Average vehicle age grows again in the U.S.

The average age of light vehicles in the U.S. rose to a record 12.8 years in 2024, marking the second straight year of a two-month increase, according to new data from S&P Global Mobility.

By comparison, Canada sat at 10.5 years as of last summer.

Despite vehicle registrations surpassing 16 million last year for the first time since 2019, they weren’t enough to offset aging trends in the 289 million-strong U.S. vehicle fleet, which saw a steady 4.5 per cent scrappage rate. The number of passenger cars dropped below 100 million for the first time since the 1970s.

“Passenger cars are continuing a steady decline toward equilibrium as consumer preference shifts to light trucks,” said Todd Campau, aftermarket practice lead at S&P Global Mobility. “The vehicle fleet continues to demonstrate impressive resilience even as it faces stress from high new and used prices and economic uncertainty.”

The average age of passenger cars climbed to 14.5 years, while light trucks reached 11.9 years. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) showed signs of aging for the first time in years, with their average age rising to 3.7 years. Plug-in hybrids held steady at 4.9 years and traditional hybrids declined from 6.9 to 6.4 years.

“Consumer preference currently is favouring hybrid and plug-in hybrid options over fully battery electric vehicles to a large extent, driving average age to flat or even negative for those propulsion types,” said Campau. “Alternative propulsion average age will continue to depend heavily on consumer sentiment for the next several years as they continue to build overall share in the vehicle fleet.”

With more vehicles moving into the aftermarket space — especially those from high-registration years between 2015 and 2019 — opportunities for maintenance and repair are expected to grow.

Regional variations also persist. States like Montana, Mississippi and North Dakota are experiencing significantly older vehicle fleets, while aging is occurring more slowly in areas like Colorado and Hawaii.

“The macro trend for average age may not correlate with what consumers see in their community, as aging rates can vary significantly from region to region,” Campau added.